The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. Except where indicated, this background information is not admitted prior art.
Piles, piling or screwpiles are a steel screw-in pipes and ground anchoring systems used for building foundations, bridge foundations, piers, pipeline tie-downs and in other applications. They are often necessary for foundations where the ground is not compacted, strong enough, or of variable capacity to carry a building structure, i.e. the pile's shaft transfers a structure's load deep into the ground. Subsequent foundation members, such as horizontal beams, are typically welded or otherwise attached to a plurality of such screwed-in piles, i.e. to that portion of the pile shafts' which stick up above the ground. For a number of reasons (including, change in localized ground conditions or ground slope), adjacent piles are often driven into the ground at different depths, i.e. with different above-ground portions then extending above the ground at different heights, relative to the horizontal plane. A pipe or pile cutter is then employed to cut the plurality of piles to the desired vertical elevation above-ground. Typically, a portable saddle-type pipe cutter (also called a pipe beveller) having a cutting torch is utilized to that effect.
Saddle-type pipe cutters are well known in the art. FIGS. 1a-1b illustrate a prior art saddle-type pipe cutter mounted in a conventional manner, such as via a chain or boomer, around a section of pipe P that is extending above the ground G along the vertical plane V. Conventionally, such a pipe cutter will cause the cutting torch to rotate around the pipe and make a cut C which is generally along a plane that is perpendicular to the pipe's longitudinal axis L. If the pipe P is screwed or placed into the ground substantially along the vertical plane V, then any such cut C will be substantially parallel to the horizontal plane H and the top of the pipe will therefore be substantially level.
However, often such piling or pipe P is not placed into the ground G in a substantially vertical manner. Instead, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1c-1d, pipe P may be installed into the ground offset to some degree from the vertical plane V. In such a case, where the longitudinal axis L of a pipe P is offset from the vertical plane V, conventional saddle-type pipe cutters will cause the cutting torch to create a cut C that is also offset by a similar amount or angle A from the horizontal plane H; and the top of the pipe P is then no longer level (see FIG. 1D). This is not desirable, since it complicates subsequent attachment and mounting of any general horizontal structures or beams to such offset pilings.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus to easily allow a saddle-type pipe cutter to make generally level cuts on pipe and/or piling that is placed into the ground at angles that are offset from the vertical plane.